Standing here as the first South African president of the ICC is a very humbling experience Percy Sonn

Sonn, who took the position on Friday, told the ICC Business Forum he was planning an early visit to Zimbabwe.

"Cricket is stronger than it has ever been," said the 56-year-old.

"But at the same time it is not without its issues. Zimbabwe has seen many of its players walk away from the national side and Zimbabwe cricket is weaker."

Zimbabwe has suspended itself from Test cricket until early 2007 after a series of crises which have seen top players such as Heath Streak and Tatenda Taibu quit the international scene.

The team are, however, still playing one-day internationals with an inexperienced side but were beaten 5-0 by West Indies in their most recent series.

There have also been allegations of financial mismanagement levelled at Zimbabwe Cricket officials.

Sonn, who has taken over from Pakistan's Ehsan Mani, said he wanted to see the challenges facing the game there first hand.

"I will then report back to the ICC's executive board so we are in a better position to support Zimbabwe cricket at a time when support is clearly needed," he added.

According to the Independent newspaper in Harare, the government's grip over cricket in Zimbabwe will increase further if a proposed new board constitution is passed.

We are confident his leadership will do much towards world cricket meeting the challenges that face all of us Graeme Smith

It empowers the Robert Mugabe-controlled Zanu-PF regime to appoint seven of the 12 board members for a four-year term, rendering them unaccountable to any of the country's cricket stakeholders.

Only five members will be appointed by provincial associations, and they will be outnumbered by the political appointees.

Sonn emerged as a leading cricket administrator in his native country when he served as vice-president at the Western Province Cricket Board in the mid-1970s.

He played a crucial role during the transfer to the post-apartheid regime and eventually served as president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa for three years until 2003.

That same year, however, he was involved in an embarrassing incident as his country hosted the World Cup.

He was forced to apologise for being drunk in the hospitailty area during a group match at Boland Park.

That incident has long been forgotten, though.

President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki offered his congratulations to Sonn, and national team captain Graeme Smith said: "We are confident his leadership will do much towards world cricket meeting the challenges that face all of us."